E-learning Preferences of International Students: The Shandong
University of Technology Study (SDUT)
Deniss T C Yeung, (E-mail: deniss.yeung@wintec.ac.nz)
Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), New Zealand
Abstract
This study was prompted by one institution’s decision to make flexible delivery and
internationalisation a strategic priority. Through an existing relationship with an
education institute in China, it has been possible to gauge their students’ online
learning experiences, preferences and intentions to study mixed mode delivery
programmes overseas.
However, on quick review of the literature, it became
apparent that there is a dearth of research on overseas students’ online learning
preferences. The researcher set out to redress this imbalance and from the
insights gained put forward suggestions to strengthen online programme
development, staff training and IT investment. These recommendations provide
practical strategies for institutes that want to provide relevant programmes to
international students and to grow in the international market place.
Introduction
New Zealand Tertiary Education Export Situation
International students have been providing both monetary and other benefits to
the New Zealand education sector. In 2003 more than 120,000 foreign students
studied in New Zealand, earning the country $2.2 billion and making education one
of New Zealand's biggest export earners (Education New Zealand, 2004).
Currently there is a drop in international student numbers due to increased
competition and negative publicity related to some incidents (Boag, 2006). Since
the domestic student number is stagnant (Tertiary Education Statistics, 2007), the
only way for New Zealand educational institutes to grow and be financially
sustainable is to become more internationally focused.
1
E-Learning Development - General
Many people think that e-learning is training over the Internet. Although this is
often true, e-learning can be much more than that. It can include training through
the internet or through a local or corporate intranet; information saved onto a CD or
DVD and viewed off-line through a web browser or it can include a combination of
the above. The simplest definition is "any form of training that uses a computer
network for course delivery, interaction, or facilitation and a browser for learner
interaction" (Chronos Communication, 2002).
The advances in and decreasing costs of computer software and hardware in
the 1980s resulted in increased use of, and confidence in, computer technologies
by teachers and learners. By the mid 1990s a number of educational institutions
were fully exploiting the power of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Search
engines, to locate and retrieve information, had been developed and a small
publication-boom of web sites occurred (Griffiths, 2001).
During the last 30 years remarkable progress has been made in
conceptualizing, assessing and investigating the determinants of the social and
psychological aspects of the learning environments of classroom and schools
(Fraser, 1998). A more significant feature of learning environment research is that
the most productive learning outcomes are most likely to occur when learners
perceive that their actual learning environment matches their preferred learning
environment (Yarrow, 1997). In the last decade there has been a concentrated
focus on developing instruments that measure the learning environments
associated with computers and the web.
Educators are suggesting that ‘Internet’ learning that combines face-to-face
teaching with online resources and communication, provides a richer learning
context and enables differences in learning styles and preferences to be better
accommodated (Aldred & Reid, 2003; Bates, 2000; Dalziel, 2003; Mann, 2000).
2
E-Learning Development - China
E-learning, a relatively new phenomenon in Chinese education, is developing
at an unimaginable pace, with more than 7.8 million people engaged in online
learning in 2006 (ClickZnetwork, 2006). In 2002 the Ministry of Education of China
authorized 67 prestigious universities to trial distance-education projects, including
Beijing University and Tsinghua University (Beijing University, 2003). Most of these
universities have established their own internet online schools. According to Levy
(2003), “Even better, government policy encourages the development of online
learning solutions for China's millions of industrial enterprises, opening the door to
the West for both content and good ideas. The government recognizes needs in IT
training, management training, and human resources - all of which have become
even more important now that China is a member of the World Trade
Organization.”
E-learning allows higher education to be more accessible to people who are
not able to go to regular classrooms. The unique situation in China is that the
development of e-learning is a collaborative effort made by various universities. At
the same time, they are also making a joint effort with big businesses to form a real
educational “web” in the country. According to Liang Wie, director of the Beijing
Research Centre for Elementary Education, 500,000 of Beijing's 1.7 million
elementary and grammar school pupils have access to online learning, with
teachers answering questions on 13 subjects. The deadly lung disease SARS has
also had an unexpected side effect in China: online learning is booming among
pupils and students in Beijing. Tele-courses and online classes have widely
replaced regular teaching in China's capital (Newsfox, 2003).
Given its size, need, technological capacity, and track record of success with
improbable scenarios, China could become the global e-learning giant. In China,
the development of e-learning may have far greater importance and urgency than
3
in western countries. The recent marriage of technologies enabling online
performance support may be an important accelerator for China's overall economic
development (Levy, 2003).
Overseas Study Cost Considerations
When students go overseas to further their studies they face many issues and
concerns including safety, adaptation, family worries and finance (Keele University
, 2005). “The first thing students consider when deciding where to study aboard is
the cost,” claims Mia Ando from Green Road agency in Japan. “It’s natural
because that’s the easiest part they can compare by themselves” (Education
Travel Magazine, 2003).
In the 1990’s New Zealand’s cost of living was the lowest among competitors
like the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. “If you are shopping around for an
overseas education, New Zealand is the cheapest study destination” (Green,
2002). This advantage no longer exists because of the recent increase in the value
of the New Zealand dollar. In order to encourage students to study abroad,
institutes must try their best to keep the expenses of overseas study down. One of
the options is to offer programmes that can be studied partly in their home country
instead of spending three or four years abroad.
Wintec’s Strategic Directions
Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), is the second largest institute of
technology/polytechnic in New Zealand.
Founded in 1924 as the Hamilton
Technical College, the institution has evolved over time from its original mandate to
deliver largely technical and trades training in the Waikato region, to become a
more comprehensive institution offering courses and programmes at certificate,
diploma, baccalaureate and postgraduate levels that now serve local, regional,
national and international markets.
4
In order to remain financially sustainable and to grow Wintec has set a number
of strategic directions. The strategic directions relevant to this study are Academic
Delivery and Internationalisation.
In order to deliver programmes that are relevant and meet the needs of
students, Wintec will increase flexibility of academic delivery in the Waikato region,
and offer niche programmes nationally and off-shore. Wintec believes that a
combination of online and face-to-face delivery improves access and enhances
students’ educational experience and learning outcomes.
Internationalisation
and
collaboration
with
international
partners
is
a
cornerstone of Wintec’s development plans. As more countries want their students
to remain at home for tertiary study, the development of Wintec programmes
delivered overseas is seen as important strategy.
One of the recent projects in China is the agreement between Wintec and
Shandong University of Technology (SDUT) to offer the 2+2 and 3+1 Bachelor of
Business programmes. Students at the School of Economics at SDUT have the
opportunity to either spend two years at SDUT and another two years at Wintec, or
they can spend three years with SDUT then one year at Wintec to gain a Wintec
qualification. As a result, five students came in 2005 for the 2+2 programmes and
15 students have come in 2006. A further 63 students will come in 2007 on the 3+1
programme.
Purpose and Objectives of the Study
Based on China’s e-learning commitment identified previously and the existing
relationship between Wintec and SDUT, the researcher wants to understand
international students’ e-learning preferences (in this case SDUT) so as to make
recommendations to Wintec management for future Internationalisation and
Flexible Delivery strategies formulation.
Specific objectives of the research are:
5
1. to ascertain existing Shandong University of Technology students’ e-learning
experience;
2. to explore Shandong University of Technology students’ intention to enrol in
Wintec’s online programmes; and
3. to determine Shandong University of Technology students’ e-learning
preferences.
Methodology
Respondents
Students at the School of Economics at Shandong University of Technology
(SDUT) in China were invited to fill in a questionnaire (in Chinese). These students
were either on existing 3 + 1 or 2 + 2 programmes or students who might come to
study at Wintec in the future.
Questionnaire
The survey instrument was a self-administered print questionnaire consisting of
eleven close-ended (fixed-alternative) questions. Respondents were given specific,
limited-alternative responses and asked to choose the one closest to their
individual view.
The covering page of the questionnaire explained the purpose, objectives,
confidentiality and ownership of information to respondents.
The first part of the questionnaire (Questions 1 to 4) was made up of easy
questions as a warm-up for respondents and to build their confidence.
Question One:
Which programme are you studying at the moment?
Question Two:
Which department do you belong to?
6
Question Three:
Your gender?
Question Four:
Your age?
The middle part of the questionnaire (Questions 5 to 9) asked the respondents
to indicate their computer and internet experiences.
Question Five
How often do you use the internet for your studies?
Question Six
How often do you use a computer (excluding the internet) for your
studies?
Question Seven
Please indicate how many online course(s) you have done when
you were i) living in Shandong, ii) living in other part of China, iii)
outside China.
Question Eight
Please indicate the level(s) of the online course(s) that you have
done.
Question Nine
Was the language of your online course in Chinese, in English, in
other language?
7
The end of the questionnaire (Questions 10 and 11), asked about their elearning preferences.
Question Ten
Please indicate your e- learning preference.
Question Eleven
If Wintec online programmes are made available what will be your
preferred mode of study.
Procedure
In February 2006, the questionnaire was drafted in English and reviewed by the
staff of School of Communication and Research Office to confirm the validity of
questions. The questionnaire was later translated into Chinese by staff at Wintec
and proof-read by a local Chinese journalist in Hamilton. The Chinese version was
emailed to Professor Lily Wang of Shandong University of Technology, China in
April 2006 for checking.
In mid April 2006, six hundred questionnaires were posted to Professor Lily
Wang, Economics Department of School of Economics, SDUT. Prof. Wang and
her colleagues invited 600 students from their school to complete the
questionnaires in early May 2006. Five hundred and sixty eight completed
questionnaires were returned to the researcher in late May 2006 for analysis.
Data Entry and Analysis
Data from returned questionnaires were entered into the computer using
Microsoft Excel software which could generate graphs for viewing and
presentation.
Graphs generated by Microsoft Excel were transferred to Microsoft Word for
report writing purposes.
Compliance with Protocols for Research
8
The
process
and
procedure
used
in
this
research
followed
the
Protocols/Principles for Conducting Research in a Maori Context developed by The
Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec, 2006), and also abided by the Human
Ethics in Research protocols.
Results
Of the 600 surveys distributed to students at the School of Economics at SDUT
in China, 568 were completed, giving a response rate of 94.7%. All returned
questionnaires were valid because of the willingness of students and careful
supervision of the staff at SDUT.
The present study sets out to ascertain existing Shandong University of
Technology students’ e-learning experience, their intention to enrol onto Wintec’s
online programmes or courses and their online learning preferences. It is hoped
that the insights gained will contribute to a better understanding of student elearning behaviour and preferences and that these findings will act as a catalyst for
strengthening a strategic commitment that has been made to advancing the cause
of flexible delivery and of internationalisation.

Programmes of Study - Most students involved in the research (68.5%) were
studying degree programmes, followed by diplomas (31.3%) and sub-degree
programmes (2%).

Departments - A high number of students (53.3%) studied in the International
Economics and Trade Department, followed by the Economics Department
(23.8%). Five point one percents of the respondents studied in the Finance
Department. The rest of the students (17.8%) were from other departments
including Foreign Language, Business Administration, Mathematics and
Computing, and International Business.

Gender - Nearly 58.6% of respondents were females.
9

Age - The largest segment of the total number surveyed fell in the 21-25 age
bracket (71.3%), followed by 28.7% between 26-30 years.

Frequency of using the internet for studies - A high proportion of respondents
(58.2%) had never used the internet for study and around one third of them
(33.5%) had used it between one to three days a week. Only a small number
(4.8% and 3.5%) had used the internet for study more than three days a week.

Frequency of using a computer for study (excluding the internet) - More than
half (55.42%) of the students had used a computer for study,
and similar
proportions (11.55% and 11.19%) had used it between one to three days and
four to six days for study. Of those surveyed, 21.85% of them had never used a
computer for study.

Number of online course(s) completed - A vast majority of the surveyed
students (94%) had not done an online course before. A few of them (4%) had
done one online course, and the same number of students (1%) stated they
had done either two online courses or three or more online courses.

Location of online course(s) completed –
For the respondents who had done three and more online courses, a high
proportion (47.1%) did so outside China. The difference was not
significant between those who lived in Shandong (29.4%) or other parts of
China (23.5%).
Of students who attempted two online courses half were in Shandong,
30% in other parts of China and 20% outside China.
For those who had completed just one online course, 40% were in
Shandong, 26.2% were in other parts of China and 6.2% were outside
China.
An almost equal number of students in the three areas had never done an
online course before.
10

Level(s) of online course(s) completed –
Results show that 122 students had done one online course before. Of
those 23.8%, 22% and 23% did a course in diploma, degree and other
level courses respectively. More than average (31.1%) did a certificate
online course.
22 students had done two online courses and more than half of them
(54.5%) did certificate courses; 27.2%, 15.6% and 4.5% did diploma,
degree and other level courses respectively.
Only 9 students had done three or more online courses before and most
of them (55.6%) were involved in degree programmes. The rest of them
had done diploma and other level courses.

Language of online course(s) completed –
Chinese is the most commonly used language in online courses done by
respondents. Of the 92 students who had done one online course, 53.3%
did it in Chinese followed by 30.4% in English and 16.3% in other
languages.
Sixteen respondents had done two online courses, of whom 62.5% did
the courses in Chinese and 37.5% did them in English.
Of the 16 students who had done three and more online courses, the
majority of them (93.7%) did them in Chinese and only one respondent
did all three online courses in English.

General online learning preferences - A significant majority (70.9%) indicated
they preferred to have some courses online and only a small fraction (19.3)
preferred having most courses online. Very few (5.1% and 4.7%) opted for
having all courses and no courses online, respectively.
Possible Wintec online programmes options
11
The following percentages are based on replies from the total number of
respondents, since not all respondents chose all the options provided, the total
percentages may not add up to one hundred.

For the option ‘Study all courses at Wintec with some online components’, only
a small fraction (13.7% and 9.9%) indicated this was their most preferred and
preferred choice. A relatively high number (24.6% and 29.4%) reported this
option was not preferred and least preferred. 18.1% of the respondents had no
particular preference.

A large number (38.9%) of those surveyed stated ‘Study all Wintec courses
online in China’ as the least preferred option with a further 1.6% identifying not
prefer. An equal number (10.6%) said this was either their preferred or most
preferred choice. A small fraction (11.1%) did not show any preference.

The ‘First study some courses online in China then complete programme at
Wintec’ option generated a high number (29.9%) of no preference responses.
Eighteen point three percents and 20.6% rated this as their most preferred and
preferred option. Twenty one point seven percents of the respondents chose
not prefer for this option and only 5.6% said this was their least preferred one.

Option ‘First study some courses at Wintec then complete programme online in
China’ was preferred by a significant number (38.6%) of surveyed students and
a further 13.6 % indicated this was their most preferred option. Twelve point
five percents respondents reported this choice was not preferred and very few
(4.6%) put it down as least preferred. Twenty six point eight percents showed
no preference at all.

A high number of respondents (41.9%) indicated ‘Start programmes at Wintec
then study some courses online in China and finish programme at Wintec’ was
their most preferred option and a further 19.0% stated they preferred it. Only a
12
small number of those surveyed (9.9% and 12.0%) stated not preferred and
least preferred. 13.4% had no particular preference.
In conclusion the option ‘Start programmes at Wintec then study some courses
online in China and finish programme at Wintec’ is the
most preferred one
supported by 60.91% (most preferred and preferred) respondents followed by ‘First
study some courses at Wintec then complete programme online in China’ option
with more than half (52.12%) of the students supporting it.
The most unpopular option was ‘Study all courses at Wintec with some online
components’ with 54.05% rated it as least preferred and not preferred. ‘Study all
Wintec courses online in China’ was the next most unpopular option with a 40.49%
negative response.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The findings of this study provide useful insights into online course delivery and
indicate the need for the development of a range of delivery packages that offer
international students the flexibility they desire.
To be more competitive in the world market, it is important to be computer and
internet literate, so the Chinese government and education authority institutes are
putting more resources in online development in education and training. The SDUT
study shows that computers and the internet are being used more and more often
by students in their studies and a number of students used Chinese, English or
other languages for their online courses.
The SDUT students preferred to have some courses in their programmes face
to face; they may believe it is important to maintain a certain level of interaction
between teaching staff and fellow students. Also, this study shows that the most
preferred online delivery option is to begin a programme at Wintec, which gives
them the opportunity to experience overseas teaching and learning methods, as
13
well as social and cultural differences. Students would then go home and continue
the programme online but still keep in contact with staff and fellow students. During
this period they could save up money and catch up with their friends and family.
Towards the end of the programme they would come back to Wintec to complete
major assignments and examinations and possibly attend the graduation
ceremony. Some may wish to seek employment in New Zealand.
Given the existing and future development of computing and internet
technology plus the high costs of studying overseas, students are more likely to
choose those institutes who can provide flexible, mixed mode delivery and costeffective courses for them.
Educational institutes that want to offer online courses to overseas students
need to investigate potential students’ online learning preferences, as different
countries have different cultural, social, legal, technological and economic
backgrounds.
For programmes which take more than one year to complete, institutes need to
identify when it is best for students to go overseas and when to study online at
home. Also, different packages should be designed for students in different
countries.
At the individual course level, institutes have to analyse the types of courses
that are suitable to be offered online. For example, fact based and number based
courses like biology or statistics will be easier for students to learn online but
courses with interpersonal components like Business Communication and Buyer
Behaviour may require face-to-face staff input to be effective.
Another issue that needs to be addressed by institutes is the external recipient
system’s compatibility with the delivered online materials. As an example, a focus
group of students who were conducting formative evaluation of the development
14
materials (Laurillard, 1994) had a lot of difficulty with remote access to the course.
These difficulties were mostly due to incompatible hardware configurations, slow
modems or instability of the software.
Greater investment in computer and internet resources, including staff training,
is another area institutes cannot ignore. Teaching staff should be competent and
confident to work with international students and overseas staff in the online
environment.
References
Aldred, L., & Reid, B. (2003). Adopting an innovative multiple media approach to
learning for equity groups: electronicaly-mediated learning for off-campus
students. In Crisp G., Thiele D., Scholten I., Barker S.& Baron J. (Eds.), Interact,
Integrate, Impact: Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference.
Bates, T. (2000). Distance education in dual mode higher education institutions :
Challenges and changes, Retrieved March 15 2003 from University of British
Columbia, Continuing Studies: Distance Education & Technology Web site:
http://bates.cstudies.ubc.ca/.
Beijing University, <http://pku.edu.cn> (October 2003).
Boag, S. (2006).Newztel News: TV One “Breakfast”. Thursday, 17 August 2006.
15
Chronos Communications (2002). A Working Definition of E-Learning. Retrieved
from http://home.teleport.com/~jrab/elearning.html.
ClickZnetwork (2006). Top 15 Online Populations and Web Properties Worldwide,
June 2006. http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3623166.
Dalziel, J. (2003). Implementing learning design: the learning activity management
system (LAMS). In G.Crisp, D.Thiele, I.Scholten, S.Barker & J.Baron (Eds.),
Interact, Integrate, Impact: Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference of the
Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. (pp. 593 597): Adelaide, 7-10 December 2003.
Education New Zealand. 2004, March 23.
Educationcounts (2007). Provider-based equivalent full-time students (EFTS), Table
one, http://www.educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz/statistics/tertiary/participation.html
Education Travel Magazine. (2003 January). Comparative costs. Retrieved from
Education Travel Magazine website
http://www.hothousemedia.com/etm/etmbackissues/janetm03/janetm03feauture.
htm.
Green, S. (2002). South China Morning Post, April13, 2002.
16
Griffiths, R. T. (2001). History of the Internet, Internet for Historians (and just about
everyone else). Retrieved June 7 2002 from Universiteit Leiden, History Web
site: http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/frame_theorie.html.
Keele University, (2005 August). Common Difficulties for International Students.
Retrieved
from
Keele
University,
Student
Support
Division
website
http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/studentsupport/counselling/intproblems.htm.
Laurillard, D. (1994) The role of formative evaluation in the progress of multimedia,
Interactive multimedia in university education: Design for change in teaching and
learning, Beattie, K., McNaught, C. & Wills, S. (Eds), Amsterdam: North Holland:
278-293.
Levy, J. (2003) The next China: revolution - online learning boom in China.
www.people.cornell.edu/pages/l63.
Mann, B. (2000, July). Internet provision of enrichment oppertunities to school and
home. Australian Educational Computing, 15(1). Retrieved May 7 2002 from
http://www.acce.edu.au/journal/.
Newsfox (2003, July). Online learning in China booming due to SARS
Tele-courses and Internet classes viewed as safe option. Retrieved July 2003
from http://www.pressetext.com/pte.mc?pte=030605038.
Wintec (2006, February). Waikato Institute of Technology. Human Ethics in
Research Policy Conducting Research Involving WINTEC Staff and/or Students
17
Protocols/Principles
for
Conducting
Research
in
a
Maori
Context
(https://staff.wintec.ac.nz/NR/rdonlyres/84A0A540-38A3-4DCC-80A5F8475AD9BFFD/0/ConductResearch_PartA.pdf).
Yarrow A., Millwater, J. & Fraser, B.J. (1997). Improving university and primary
school classroom environments through preservice teachers' action research.
International Journal of Practical Experiences in Professional Education, (1), 6893.
About the author
Deniss Yeung is a Principal Lecturer in the School of Business and
Administration, Faculty of Business and Technology, Waikato Institute of Technology.
He is also a staff representative on Waikato Institute of Technology. He is a
Chartered Marketer (U.K.) with strong research interests in not for profit
organizations and International student issues.
18